Ponchielli Marco Ruggeri Complete Organ Music Amilcare Ponchielli 1834-1886 Complete Organ Music 1. Pastorale No.1 in F – Andante* 2’54 11. Pastorale No.11 in G – 17. Sinfonia “metà per organo 28. Versetto 1’03 2. Pastorale No.2 in G – Allegretto* 3’45 Moderato assai* 3’49 e metà per pianoforte” 5’41 29. Andante-Allegretto non tanto 3’38 3. Pastorale No.3 in C – Allegretto* 3’14 12. Pastorale No.12 in D – (half for organ, half for pianoforte) 30. Andante grave 2’41 4. Pastorale No.4 in A minor – Allegretto* 3’40 18. L’annunzio ai pastori 4’28 31. Allegro-Allegretto 3’36 Allegro* 3’38 13. Pastorale No.13 in F – Allegro* 4’05 Pastorale caratteristica per sinfonia/ 32. Andante mosso 1’47 5. Pastorale No.5 in G – Andante* 2’39 14. Pastorale No.14 in C – Characteristic pastoral for symhony 33. Allegro 1’22 6. Pastorale No.6 in A – Andante variato* 2’42 19. Ripieno 2’54 34. Facile marcia 2’02 Allegro moderato* 1’56 15. Pastorale in D-G 20. Assai Moderato 3’34 35. Preludio dalla Cantata 7. Pastorale No.7 in F – Allegretto* 3’01 (without number) –Andantino* 3’29 21. Moderato 2’21 a Donizetti* 2’21 8. Pastorale No.8 in C – Moderato* 2’16 16. Marcia funebre. 22. Per Ripieno o per Elevazione 2’35 36. Variazioni per cembalo* 8’14 9. Pastorale No.9 in C – Elegia in memoria del padre* 5’46 23. Larghetto-Allegretto 4’12 37. Danza delle ore Andante mosso* 2’43 24. Adagio 2’42 (da “La Gioconda”) 8’49 10. Pastorale No.10 in D – Andante* 2’14 25. Allegretto campestre 2’52 Adattamento per organo di/ 26. Fuga 2’26 Adapted for organ by Marco Ruggeri 27. Andante-Allegretto 4’38 * World premiere recording Marco Ruggeri organs Tracks 1-16: Ca ‘de’ Stefani, church of S. Bartolomeo, Vescovato, Italy. Built by “Angelo Bossi and Nipoti” of Bergamo, inaugurated by Amilcare Ponchielli, restored by Daniele Giani of Corte de ’Frati Tracks 17-37: Parish Church of S. Dalmazio, Paderno Ponchielli. Built by Pacifico Inzoli di Crema in 1873, inaugurated by Amilcare Ponchielli and Vincenzo Petrali, restored by Inzoli-Bonizzi of Ombriano Amilcare Ponchielli was born in Paderno (now Paderno Ponchielli) near Cremona composition. Indeed, during the 5 years he spent at S. Imerio he wrote a number of in 1834 and died in Milan in 1886. His fame is largely due to his operas, to the pieces for the organ and was also hired to test new organs in the Cremona area. The extent that within the overall framework of 19th century Italian opera he is generally first of these was at Ca’ de’ Stefani (Vescovato), 10 km from Cremona, on 29 June considered second only to Giuseppe Verdi. His outstanding works in this genre were 1856. This was a remarkable instrument on various accounts, first and foremost I Lituani, which met with great acclaim when it was first performed in 1874, and the because it was probably here that Ponchielli made his public debut as a concert famous Gioconda of 1876. organist. As with the instrument at S. Imerio, the organ was built by the Bossi firm Before making a name for himself throughout Italy, Ponchielli had spent two busy and certainly resembled its predecessor at S. Imerio. While this latter instrument no decades working in the cities of Cremona and Piacenza. As a child he had received longer exists, however, the organ at Ca’ de’ Stefani has not only survived, but has also music lessons from his father Giovanni, an organist who played at various churches been recently restored, which is why it was chosen for this recording. Ponchielli tested in the area. Thanks to support from the wealthy Jacini family, he was able to study a number of other organs, in particular in Cremona (S. Ilario, 1858), Casanova del at the Conservatoire in Milan, where he was awarded a diploma in Composition in Morbasco (1859), Piacenza Cathedral (1864), Pugnolo (1868), Paderno, his home 1854. Between finishing his studies and the fame that came in the wake of I Lituani, town (1873), Milan (St. Mark’s, 1876) and in Cremona Cathedral (1879). he wrote a number of operas, including I promessi sposi of 1856/1872, based on Ponchielli’s first composition for the organ was probably the Sinfonia metà per the famous novel by Alessandro Manzoni. They were not particularly successful, organo e metà per pianoforte (Symphony half for the organ and half for the piano), however, so to earn a living he worked as an organist at the church of S. Imerio in the strange title of which means that it could be played both on the organ and on the Cremona (1855-1860) and then as municipal bandleader in Piacenza (1861-64) piano, as was typical for the Italian organ repertoire of the time. A note added to the and in Cremona (1864-74). Thanks to these jobs he was also able to devote time to title declares that it was «improvised on 9 October 1854» at Annicco (Cremona) «in composing, in time acquiring recognition as one of the foremost composers of band the home of my friend Costantino Biolchi at 9 in the evening». A few months later, music in the country. in March 1855, Ponchielli took up the post as organist at S. Imerio, composing a He returned to Cremona in the autumn of 1854, following his diploma in Milan, number of pieces intended for the liturgy in keeping with period tastes in Italy (tracks and was appointed organist in the church of S. Imerio, in the city centre, a stone’s 17-37): two Fugues, a Versetto, the Pastorale, the Ripieno, a March and various non- throw from the cathedral and the Teatro Concordia (now known as the Teatro specific items that could be played during the Offertory or after Communion. Ponchielli), where he also worked accompanying singers at the keyboard. At S. Imerio Dedicated to the composer’s father Giovanni, the collection Il Santo Natale. he played a new organ that had been built in 1854-55 by the famous Bergamo organ Pastorali per organo d’Amilcare Ponchielli scritte per suo padre Giovanni (tracks builders Angelo Bossi & Nipoti. It was a smallish instrument with a single manual 1-16) comprises 16 hand-written pastorals (plus one that is unnumbered) probably and split stops that meant the organist had to choose between the bass and the high also dating back to the S. Imerio years. Despite the uniformity of the musical notes of the keyboard. However, it allowed for a rich palette of colours and effects, genre, there is nothing repetitive about the style of the individual pieces, each one providing Ponchielli with an opportunity for gaining experience in organ playing and of which has distinctive features as regards tempi, form and thematic material. Numbers 15 and 16 also feature in the Caifa manuscript (tracks 18 and 20) and the pastoral L’annunzio ai pastori. Pastorale caratteristica per Sinfonia (track 18) is also remarkable for the way Ponchielli deliberately avoids the usual pastoral melodies, instead choosing to describe the darkness of Christmas night and the sudden light that accompanied the angel’s appearance before the shepherds. Ponchielli’s organ works have only become the focus of attention in relatively recent years. Indeed, the Thematic Catalogue edited by Licia Sirch in 1989 comprises only the works from the Caifa manuscript (tracks 18-21). Further compositions came to light between 1995 and 1996. They are part of the Mozzi manuscripts, which now belong to the Museo Ponchielliano in Paderno (tracks 17 and 34), the Sonzogno manuscripts that belong to the Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona (tracks 22-18), the Gov. 292 collection kept in the Biblioteca Statale in Cremona (tracks 29-31) and the private collection belonging to Sergio Noci (tracks 32 and 33), who in 2010 also purchased the handwritten score of the Pastorali (tracks 1-16) put up for sale by the Libreria Antiquaria Gallini in Milan. Another manuscript score that has recently surfaced contains the Variazioni per cembalo (track 36), a particularly beautiful virtuoso piece that was written by Ponchielli at the age of ten, according to a hand-written note on the frontispiece. In actual fact the complexity of the composition rather suggests that this claim should be taken with a pinch of salt: perhaps the main melody and part of what follows are Further reading what effectively dates back to his childhood. Giuseppe De Napoli, Amilcare Ponchielli: la vita, le opere, l’epistolario, le onoranze, The Prelude to the Cantata a Donizetti (track 35) and the famous Danza delle ore Cremona 1936 (from the opera Gioconda, Act III; track 37) are obviously orchestral pieces arranged Amilcare Ponchielli 1834-1886. Saggi e ricerche nel 150° anniversario della nascita, here for the organ on the basis of the piano score. As for the deeply moving Elegia in Casalmorano 1984 memory of his father (track 16), it was written for the piano, but it also lends itself Amilcare Ponchielli, edited by Giampiero Tintori, Milan 1985 very well to transcription for the organ. Licia Sirch, Catalogo tematico delle musiche di Amilcare Ponchielli, Cremona 1989 © Marco Ruggeri Amilcare Ponchielli, Pezzi per organo, edited by Marco Ruggeri, Cremona 1999 (a Translation by Kate Singleton revised, up-dated edition is currently in preparation) Amilcare Ponchielli nacque a Paderno (ora Paderno Ponchielli, provincia di debuttò pubblicamente come organista concertista; inoltre, perché esso fu costruito Cremona) nel 1834 e morì a Milano nel 1886.